10 indicted by county grand jury

MOUNT VERNON — Ten indictments were handed down by a Knox County Grand Jury on Monday. Arraignments are scheduled for Feb. 12, in the Common Pleas Court, before Judge Otho Eyster.

According to Knox County Prosecutor John Thatcher, Erica D. Colopy, 27, Howard, was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault and endangering children in connection with the death of a 3-year-old Mount Vernon boy on Oct. 8, 2009. Thatcher said the boy died as the result of a serious brain injury sustained in a fall down a flight of stairs in his home on Oct. 6. Detective Cpl. Matt Dailey, Mount Vernon Police Department, investigated the case.

Melissa M. Hall, 33, Utica, faces charges of arson, disrupting public services and attempted insurance fraud. Thatcher said Hall allegedly set fire to her 1999 Mercury Cougar on Aug. 9, 2009. Assistant State Fire Marshal Kurt J. Schneider investigated the incident after the Utica Volunteer Fire Department extinguished the car fire at Hall’s Knox County residence. Schneider determined that the fire was not accidental.

Hall allegedly made a claim to collect insurance money for the car, but later withdrew the claim. The disrupting public services charge alleges that Hall impaired the fire department’s ability to respond to other emergencies while extinguishing the car fire.

According to the indictment, Daryl E. Judd, 18, Knox County Jail, was convicted of rape in Miami County, on Oct. 9, 2009. Thatcher said that as a sex offender, Judd is required to provide change of address notification to authorities for 10 years. Judd allegedly failed to notify the Knox County Sheriff’s Office when he changed his address, on or about Dec. 20. Detective Sgt. Gary Rohler investigated the case.

Daniel Z. Goudy, 20, Danville, is charged with breaking and entering and vandalism for allegedly breaking into and damaging a bar in Danville on Sept. 11, 2009. Goudy is also charged with receiving stolen property for allegedly possessing items stolen from the bar with a value in excess of $500. Investigator Sgt. Tom Looney, Danville Police Department, investigated the case.

Francis M. Blair Jr., 40, Mount Vernon, is accused of stealing two checks from his former employer and of forging the signatures on the checks. Thatcher said the checks, cashed on Nov. 20 and 27, 2009, totaled $965. Detective David McElroy, MVPD, investigated the case.

Renee J. Hulse, 43, Fredericktown, faces charges of grand theft and safecracking for allegedly entering a locked Ohio lottery ticket machine and stealing lottery tickets valued at $6,068, between Sept. 1 and Nov. 9, 2009. Thatcher said Hulse allegedly stole the tickets from her former employer. Lt. Jay Sheffer, Fredericktown Police Department, investigated the case.

According to the indictment, Kenneth L. Johnson, 34, Danville, was previously convicted of domestic violence in the Mount Vernon Municipal Court on Aug. 17, 2009. Thatcher said Johnson was indicted on a charge of felony domestic violence for allegedly hitting his live-in girlfriend on Jan. 21.

Johnson is also charged with disrupting public services for allegedly breaking the telephone and taking his girlfriend’s cell phone to prevent her from calling law enforcement authorities. Deputy Max Huffman, KCSO, investigated the case.

In separate cases, Sandra Eberling, 43, Huntington, W.Va., and Shawn M. Campos, 18, Mount Vernon, are accused of theft of dangerous drugs. Thatcher said that while visiting a friend’s house in Mount Vernon on Dec. 18, 2009, Eberling allegedly stole Adderall pills prescribed for her friend’s son. On Dec. 20, Campos allegedly stole Xanax and Morphine pills from a North Mulberry Street apartment while he was helping the resident there move. MVPD Patrol Officer Jessica Butler investigated the Eberling case; Patrolman James Dechant investigated the Campos case.

At about 2 a.m. on Jan. 17, sheriff’s deputies and city police officers responded to a disturbance call on South Norton Street, Mount Vernon, where the officers found Johnny D. Schorr, 22, standing in the roadway. During the incident, Schorr allegedly threatened the officers with a knife and used the knife to damage a patrol car. Thatcher said the cost to repair the damaged patrol car exceeds $500.

Schorr is charged with obstructing justice, resisting arresting while in possession of a deadly weapon and vandalism. Deputy David Devolld, KCSO, and Cpl. Scott McKnight, MVPD, investigated the case.